Patterns of Organic-Carbon Enrichment in a Lacustrine Source Rock in Relation to Paleo–Lake Level, Congo Basin, West Africa

2005 ◽  
pp. 103-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
NICHOLAS B. HARRIS ◽  
KATHERINE H. FREEMAN ◽  
RICHARD D. PANCOST ◽  
GARETH D. MITCHELL ◽  
TIMOTHY S. WHITE ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
West Africa ◽  
Source Rock ◽  
Lake Level ◽  
Congo Basin ◽  
Lacustrine Source Rock

Saving the gorillas (Gorilla g. gorilla) and chimpanzees (Pan t. troglodytes) of the Congo Basin

2001 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline E. G. Tutin
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Social Behaviour ◽  
Congo Basin ◽  
Tropical Rainforests ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Vulnerable Species ◽  
Wild Populations ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Equatorial Africa ◽  
Invasive Techniques

The forests of the Congo Basin in equatorial Africa are home to significant populations of gorillas and chimpanzees. However, numbers are declining owing to hunting and to alteration of their habitat. Gorillas and chimpanzees are particularly vulnerable for biological reasons: slow reproduction, prolonged developmental periods and complex social behaviour. In addition, their capacity to recover from disturbance is limited and the reinforcement of wild populations with captive-born individuals is rarely an option. Compared with the critically endangered mountain gorillas and the beleaguered chimpanzees in forest fragments in West Africa, there are some reasons for optimism about the future of the Congo Basin apes: levels of threat remain relatively low; and conservation of tropical rainforests has become a priority of the international community. At the same time, knowledge of the ecological needs of wild apes has increased and non-invasive techniques now exist to monitor population health. Sadly, no animals remain truly ‘wild’, as their survival depends to a greater or lesser extent on management. Protected areas and laws that forbid hunting of vulnerable species are classic tools of management, but broader landscape visions are now emerging that may allow the Congo Basin to avoid the fragile scenario of larger animals persisting only in ‘island’ parks.

scholarly journals State and evolution of the African rainforests between 1990 and 2010

2013 ◽  
Vol 368 (1625) ◽  
pp. 20120300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philippe Mayaux ◽  
Jean-François Pekel ◽  
Baudouin Desclée ◽  
François Donnay ◽  
Andrea Lupi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
Congo Basin ◽  
Landsat Images ◽  
Deforestation Rate ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Moderate Resolution ◽  
Underlying Causes ◽  
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer

This paper presents a map of Africa's rainforests for 2005. Derived from moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer data at a spatial resolution of 250 m and with an overall accuracy of 84%, this map provides new levels of spatial and thematic detail. The map is accompanied by measurements of deforestation between 1990, 2000 and 2010 for West Africa, Central Africa and Madagascar derived from a systematic sample of Landsat images—imagery from equivalent platforms is used to fill gaps in the Landsat record. Net deforestation is estimated at 0.28% yr −1 for the period 1990–2000 and 0.14% yr −1 for the period 2000–2010. West Africa and Madagascar exhibit a much higher deforestation rate than the Congo Basin, for example, three times higher for West Africa and nine times higher for Madagascar. Analysis of variance over the Congo Basin is then used to show that expanding agriculture and increasing fuelwood demands are key drivers of deforestation in the region, whereas well-controlled timber exploitation programmes have little or no direct influence on forest-cover reduction at present. Rural and urban population concentrations and fluxes are also identified as strong underlying causes of deforestation in this study.

scholarly journals Validation of soil organic carbon dynamics model in the semi-arid tropics in Niger, West Africa

2010 ◽  
Vol 89 (3) ◽  
pp. 375-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satoshi Nakamura ◽  
Keiichi Hayashi ◽  
Hide Omae ◽  
Tabo Ramadjita ◽  
Fatondji Dougbedji ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
West Africa ◽  
Carbon Dynamics ◽  
Dynamics Model ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon Dynamics ◽  
Semi Arid

scholarly journals Projected effects of vegetation feedback on drought characteristics of West Africa using a coupled regional land–vegetation–climate model

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Shafqat Mehboob ◽  
Yeonjoo Kim ◽  
Jaehyeong Lee ◽  
Myoung-Jin Um ◽  
Amir Erfanian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Vegetation Dynamics ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Global Climate Models ◽  
Congo Basin ◽  
Area Index ◽  
Vegetation Feedback ◽  
Community Land Model

Abstract. This study investigates the projected effect of vegetation feedback on drought conditions in West Africa using a regional climate model coupled to the National Center for Atmospheric Research Community Land Model, the carbon-nitrogen (CN) module, and the dynamic vegetation (DV) module (RegCM-CLM-CN-DV). The role of vegetation feedback is examined based on simulations with and without the DV module. Simulations from four different global climate models are used as lateral boundary conditions (LBCs) for historical and future periods (i.e., historical: 1981–2000; future: 2081–2100). With utilizing the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI), we quantify the duration, frequency, and severity of droughts over the focal regions of the Sahel, the Gulf of Guinea, and the Congo Basin. With the vegetation dynamics being considered, future droughts become more prolonged and enhanced over the Sahel, whereas for the Guinea Gulf and Congo Basin, the trend is opposite. Additionally, we show that simulated annual leaf greenness (i.e., the Leaf Area Index) well-correlates with annual minimum SPEI, particularly over the Sahel, which is a transition zone, where the feedback between land-atmosphere is relatively strong. Furthermore, we note that our findings based on the ensemble mean are varying, but consistent among three different LBCs except for one LBC. Our results signify the importance of vegetation dynamics in predicting future droughts in West Africa, where the biosphere and atmosphere interactions play an important role in the regional climate setup.

scholarly journals Origin of Nama Basin bitumen seeps: Petroleum derived from a Permian lacustrine source rock traversing southwestern Gondwana

2008 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 589-607 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger E. Summons ◽  
Janet M. Hope ◽  
Roger Swart ◽  
Malcolm R. Walter
Keyword(s):  
Source Rock ◽  
Lacustrine Source Rock
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